Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Va'era Volume XVIII, No. 14 1 Shevat 5764 January 24, 2004 Today's Learning: Negaim 13:12-14:1 O.C. 158:1-3 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Menachot 110 Begin Masechet Chullin on Sunday Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Yevamot 73 This week's and next week's parashot relate the Ten Plagues. We read in the Pesach Haggadah, "Rabbi Yehuda made a mnemonic for them: Detzach adash be'achav." These words are composed of the initial letters of the ten plagues, but what, if anything, do these words mean? Presumably it did not require the intellect of a sage of the Mishnah, Rabbi Yehuda, to think of abbreviating the names of the plagues. And, if all Rabbi Yehuda is teaching is that it is a good idea to use mnemonic devices to remember one's Torah lessons, what place does this lesson have in the Haggadah? R' Yedidyah Tiah Weil z"l (1721-1805; rabbi of Karlsruhe) explains: The Midrash says that when Yaakov purchased the birthright from Esav, he told Esav, "You don't want the birthright because the descendants of the firstborn will have to fulfill the promise that Hashem made to Avraham, `They shall enslave them and oppress them for 400 years'." Thus, during the entire period that Bnei Yisrael were in Egypt, they regretted the fact that their ancestor Yaakov had purchased the birthright. This is why the last plague attacked Egypt's firstborn, as if to say to Bnei Yisrael (in the words of Shmot 4:22), "Yisrael is My firstborn." It was as if Hashem told them, "Do not regret being the firstborn, for you are Mine as a result." The word "dizah means "happiness" (as in the last of the Sheva Berachot recited at a wedding). The first of R' Yehuda's acronyms -- pronounced "deetzach" (not "detzach") - means "your happiness." "Adash" refers to the "nezeed adashim" the lentil soup that Yaakov gave Esav in exchange for the birthright. "Be'achav" should be read "B'ach bet" (the same letters in Hebrew) meaning "with the second brother." Or, it could be short for "with the brother who is the b[echor]." Taken together, the entire phrase indicates that our happiness with the purchase of the birthright by the second brother in exchange for lentils is now complete. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Marbeh Le'Sapper) ******** "G-d spoke to Moshe and said to him, `I am Hashem! I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov as Kel Shakkai, but with My Name Hashem I did not make Myself known to them. Moreover, I established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojourning, in which they sojourned. Moreover, I have heard the groan of Bnei Yisrael whom Egypt enslaves and I have remembered My covenant'." (6:2-5) R' Elazar Lew z"l (died 1837) observes that Chazal gave three reasons why Bnei Yisrael were redeemed from Egypt before the 400 years of the exile had passed, and all three of them are alluded to in our verses. First, our Sages teach that Hashem applied the merits of the Patriarchs to their descendants and redeemed them early. "I appeared to the Patriarchs as Kel Shakkai - with My Attribute of Justice - but with My Name Hashem - My attribute of Mercy - I did not make Myself known to them." Therefore, all of the kindness and mercy that the Patriarchs had earned was stored away for their children to draw on. Second, our Sages say that Bnei Yisrael had sunk to a very low spiritual level and would have disappeared into spiritual oblivion if they had not been redeemed immediately. "Moreover, I established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan - and if I don't keep this promise soon, it will be too late." Third, Chazal teach that Hashem increased the level of the oppression in Egypt so that the suffering that should have taken 400 years was compressed into 210 years. "Moreover, I have heard the groan of Bnei Yisrael whom Egypt enslaves." (Haggadah Shel Pesach Shemen Rokeach p. 73) ******** "Therefore, say to Bnei Yisrael, `I am Hashem, I shall take you out from under the `sivlot' / burdens of Egypt. . . I shall take you to Me for a people and I shall be a G-d to you; and you shall know that I am Hashem your G-d, Who takes you out from under the sivlot / burdens of Egypt'." (6:6-7) Why is word "sivlot" / "burdens" written in the lacking / chasser form (i.e., without the letter vav) in verse six and in the full / malai form (i.e., with the letter vav) in verse seven? R' Yosef Zvi Salant z"l (Yerushalayim; died 10 Shevat 5741 / 1981) explains: Bnei Yisrael experienced two types of persecution in Egypt - physical and spiritual. However, the enslaved people were primarily conscious of only the physical oppression. The spiritual damage that was being done to them was less apparent. Thus we read (2:23-25), "Bnei Yisrael groaned because of the work and they cried out. Their outcry because of the work went up to G-d. G-d heard their moaning, and G-d remembered His covenant with Avraham, with Yitzchak, and with Yaakov. G-d saw Bnei Yisrael; and G-d knew." Bnei Yisrael groaned only because of their physical labors, and that outcry surely went up to G-d. However, G-d Himself knew that they were suffering from another cause as well; they were losing their spiritual connection to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. In this light, the word sivlot is written here "lacking" (i.e., without a vav) to indicate that Bnei Yisrael's suffering was lacking a dimension. However, Hashem takes us out from all of our sivlot - written "full" - because he recognizes when we are suffering spiritually as well. (Be'er Yosef) The two verses just quoted contain the well-known "Four Expressions of Geulah / Redemption." At the Pesach Seder, we drink four cups of wine, each one paralleling on of these four expressions. R' Yitzchak ben Shlomo Al-chadab z"l (Spain; early 15th century) observes that there is more to this parallelism than just the number four. Rather, each of the cups is drunk at a point in the Seder that relates to one of the four expressions of geulah / redemption. The first cup is drunk at kiddush. This parallels "I shall take you out" in that there is a mitzvah at every Shabbat and Yom Tov night kiddush to mention the basic fact that Hashem took us out of Egypt. The second cup is drunk at the blessing "Ga'al Yisrael" in which we thank Hashem for rescuing us from Egypt. The verb "I shall rescue" is used a number of times in the Torah to refer specifically to the redemption from Egypt. (See, for example, Shmot ch.18.) The third cup is drunk at Birkat Hamazon. The halachah is that one does not fulfill the mitzvah of Birkat Hamazon if he does not mention three things: Eretz Yisrael, Brit Milah and Torah. These parallel "I shall redeem you," for the redemption is not complete until our bodies and souls are saved - Eretz Yisrael for our bodies and the Torah and Brit Milah for our souls. Finally, the fourth cup is drunk at Hallel, for we have a particular obligation to acknowledge the special gift of "I shall take you to Me for a people." (Haggadah Shel Pesach: Pesach Dorot) ******* "The sons of Reuven are . . . The sons of Shimon are . . . These are the names of the sons of Levi . . ." (6:14-16) Why does the phrase, "These are the names," appear only in connection with Levi's sons? R' Yeshayah Halevi Horowitz z"l (the "Shelah Hakadosh"; died 1630) explains that Levi saw prophetically that his descendants would not be enslaved in Egypt. [This is why Moshe and Aharon were able to wander freely.] However, Levi wanted to participate in the suffering of his brethren, so he named his sons accordingly: * "Gershon" -- from the word "ger"/ "sojourner." * "Kehat" -- from the word "keheh" / "blunted" (an allusion the beatings that Bnei Yisrael suffered). * "Merari" -- from the word "mar" / "bitter" (the root of "maror"). The Shelah adds: From here a person should learn to always participate in the troubles of the community, even if he is not affected personally. (Mussarei Ha'Shelah Al Ha'Torah) ******** R' Yechiel Mordechai Gordon z"l R' Gordon was born in Lithuania on 5 Tishrei 5643 / 1882. His father, R' Moshe Aharon Gordon, was a shochet and a teacher of Torah in his hometown and later in Boston. The younger R' Gordon studied under his father until age 13 and then joined the yeshiva of R' Hirsch Levitan in Slobodka. After one year, he transferred to the famed yeshiva of R' Nosson Zvi Finkel (the "Alter of Slobodka"). When that yeshiva split in two over the question of including mussar / character development and ethics in the set curriculum, R' Gordon cast his lot with R' Finkel and the other mussar proponents. R' Gordon remained in Slobodka until 1905, when he married the daughter of R' Eliezer Shulevitz, rosh yeshiva of the academy in Lomza, Poland. R' Gordon moved to Lomza, and, in 1907, was appointed to the faculty of the yeshiva. When World War I broke out, most yeshivot in Poland and Lithuania closed their doors or fled to new homes, but the yeshiva in Lomza continued to function thanks to R' Gordon's superhuman efforts. In 1926, R' Gordon traveled to the United States to raise funds for the yeshiva in Lomza. His trip was so successful that he ended his trip with surplus funds. These he used to found a branch of the Lomza yeshiva in Petach Tikva, in Eretz Yisrael. At that time, Poland was becoming more aggressive in drafting yeshiva students, and R' Gordon realized that the best hope for his students was to leave Poland and settle in Eretz Yisrael. R' Gordon spent six months in Petach Tikva during 1927, and then returned to Poland. In 1938, R' Gordon returned to the United States on another fundraising trip. He was preparing to return to Poland in the summer of 1939 when his son-in-law informed him that Poland was on a war footing and recommended that he remain in the United States for the time being. Based on his experience during the first world war, R' Gordon knew that American Jewry held the key to the survival of the Eastern European yeshivot, and he immediately began to mobilize other rabbis to work with him to save those institutions. (Presumably, he had no idea at that time what the Nazis ym"s had in mind.) Following the Holocaust, in which his daughter and son-in-law were killed, R' Gordon returned to Petach Tikva. (R' Gordon had three children. One of his sons was killed by Arabs in 1939 while standing guard in Yerushalayim.) R' Gordon died on 13 Tevet 5725 / 1964. (Sources: Toldot Anshei Shem; Otzar Harabbanim)